The Plot So Far...

We opened our shop in July 2009. We spent months brainstorming exciting names – (my particular favourite was The Lobster Quadrille) - but decided that we wanted to be clear about what we were. We're small, we sell books and we’re in Ripon, North Yorkshire, 12 miles from Harrogate and a stone’s throw from the glorious Fountain’s Abbey.

People told us not to bother opening a bookshop. "Others have tried!" they cried. "Everyone shops online," they moaned. We knew of the difficulties we would encounter, but we had just moved to the area and thought it was sad that a Cathedral city with good schools and an educated population didn’t have an independent bookshop. We’d both been involved in the book trade before – Simon in information and supply chain management and Gill as a marketing manager for a school supplier – and we felt that we would enjoy building a bookshop in the community because...

We love books. We love the physical product the paper, the size, the colours, the titles, the words, the smell. We love the humour, the passion, the excitement of the stories (not all of them) and we love sharing this with our customers who ask for recommendations.and probably wish they hadn’t asked as we say ‘oh and there’s this one, and this one, but you wouldn’t want to miss this one.’ Our bestsellers are definitely the ones we personally love and champion.

And when I say 'we' I mean all of us. It’s a family affair with the two of us, our twin boys, Alex and Harry, who work at the weekends, and our daughters Izzy, who gives us honest feedback from around the world, and Phoebe, who can be found, most days, doing, or planning something creative for our windows. We are supported by our fabulous staff – Dianne, Bridget, Sue and two Annas – who offer their own expertise and enthusiasms. Dianne’s creative skills are often apparent in the windows - one summer we had a wonderful, yellow knitted bike in the window to celebrate the Tour de France! We're also joined by another Phoebe on Saturdays!

Our range of books is exciting and changes constantly. We work hard to balance new publications with classics and old favourites. We can't stock everything but if you are looking for a particular book and we do not have it in stock, we can usually get it by the following day. We sell beautiful cards and stationery as well as maps, literary DVDs and reading related gifts. We even offer a free gift-wrapping service (but make sure you don't ask the Gruffalo to do this - he's not very good at corners!).

The Characters

Gill

Fictional Family I'd like to have been part of: I'd have enjoyed crossing the prairies with Pa and Ma Ingalls, Laura and Mary.

Simon

Literary Ship I would most like to Captain: The HMS Surprise from Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series.

Dianne

Literary Town I would like to have lived in: Middlemarch - I'd like to prevent Lydgate from marrying Rosamond.